Sky Originals

Note: This will include HIT Wildlife, Parthenon Entertainment, Sky Vision, NBCUniversal Global Distribution, and Sky Studios, because they all related to Sky's original programming.

Background

Sky Originals is the production television arm of Sky that was formed in 1993. It was first started as Wild Media (later known as HIT Wildlife) and was a subsidiary of HIT Entertainment that produced and distributed nature and wildlife programming. The subsidiary was sold to a newly formed company called Parthenon Entertainment in 2002, which was founded by the former managing director of HIT Wildlife, Carl Hall. The rights to the programmes are now owned by Sky plc, who acquired Parthenon Entertainment in 2012, and was rebranded as Sky Vision. In April 2019, it was announced that Sky Vision's distribution business would be folded into Comcast's NBCUniversal Global Distribution. On October 1, Sky Vision Distribution officially merged with NBCUniversal Global Distribution. Production assets were transferred to newly founded Sky Studios in the same year.

HiT Wildlife

1st Logo (1997-2001)

Nickname: "Wildlife Globe"

Logo: We see the HIT logo in green, with some sort of green sun replacing the globe. "Wildlife" appears in a black cursive font.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: It was used as a print logo, but it is unknown if this was used as an on-screen logo.

2nd Logo (2001-2002)

Nicknames: "Wildlife Globe II", "Underwater Globe"

Logo: On an ocean background with ripples, the camera rotates from the bottom to the front of a blue 3D HIT logo with "WILDLIFE" in a darker blue font replacing "ENTERTAINMENT PLC". The website link "www.hitwildlife.com" appears below in a white cursive font.

FX/SFX: The camera panning and the rippling of the water.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: It was only used for a year, and is extremely rare. The only known programme that featured this logo was the documentary War Secrets: Italy Forgotten Invasion, which can be found on FilmRise History on YouTube. Re-runs of other programmes from the company might have this logo plastered with Parthenon Entertainment's logo.

Parthenon Entertainment

(2003-2012)

Nicknames: "The Green Horse", "The Feathers"

Logo: On a white or black background, we see two feathers float. The feathers then morph into a horse, with the text "Parthenon" and the smaller text "ENTERTAINMENT LTD" fading in.

Variants:

Sometimes, the URL reads "www.parthenonentertainment.com" appears underneath the logo.
An in-credit version exists.
There is a version where it has no name on it.

FX/SFX: The feathers and the morphing.

Music/Sounds: None or the ending theme of the show.

Availability: Uncommon. The black background version was seen on some shows and reruns of Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks on Qubo, plastering the Entara Ltd., Crest Communications and Mike Young Productions logos. The version with the white background can be seen on its documentaries and shows such as Hornets: A Sting in the Tale, Billy, City of Friends and digital prints of Jakers on Amazon and Tubi.

Sky Vision

1st Logo (2012-201?)

Logo: TBA.

Variants: TBA.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: TBA.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (201?-2019)

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "sky VISION" with a white vertical line on the middle and zooms out.

Variants:

Sometimes, the text "distributed internationally by Sky Vision" appears underneath the logo and still.
Another variant exists where the text reads "Distributed Internationally by Sky Vision" with the two letters are in capital letters.
There is a version where the distribution text is smaller.
Starting from 2018 until 2019, the logo is now inside a white rectangular box with the text in black and the vertical line is now smaller and it still zooms out.

FX/SFX: The zooming out effect.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: TBA.

Editor's Note: None.

NBCUniversal Global Distribution

(2021- )

Logo: Its basically just the same animation from the then-current NBCUniversal International Studios (now known as Universal International Studios) logo and the current NBCUniversal International Distribution logo from 2017, but the words "INTERNATIONAL" and the words either "STUDIOS" or "DISTRIBUTION" with the line has been replaced with the "GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION" text underneath the NBCUniversal logo.

FX/SFX: Same as the other two logos.

Music/Sounds: The same as NBCUniversal International Studios and NBCUniversal International Distribution.

Availability: Seen on international prints of most shows that were produced by Sky Studios from 2021 ownards such as The Fear Index and The Midwich Cuckoos. This is also seen on some shows that were distributed by this division such as Five Bedrooms, Everything I Know About Love and This Way Up.

Editor's Note: Same as the 2017 NBCUniversal International Studios logo.

Sky Originals

1st Logo (1999)

TBA.

2nd Logo (2000)

TBA.

3rd Logo (2003)

Logo: On an orange background we see the then-new Sky One logo at the top with the word "production" below the logo. Underneath it has the text "for Sky One & Channel 4" with the copyright disclaimer for Patrice Productions below the text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The crowd cherring.

Availability: Only seen on David Blaine: Above the Below, as other shows produced for Sky use the in-credit text.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (October 18, 2004-March 20, 2009)

Logo: On a gradient blue background, we see a 3D reflection bar, then a shining light appears and it forms the sky logo with the blue text on the top reading "in association with" on it.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Only seen on Long Way Round and UK prints of Battlestar Galactica, as most other Sky original programming use the in-credit text instead of this for some reason.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (2010-2015, January 22, 2016-June 14, 2019)

Logo: On a black background, we see the "sky" logo appearing in it's print form with the copyright disclaimer and the website info below.

Variants:

There is a version exists where the logo is in a white background and it appears either in black or silver.
Another version exists were it has the Sky Arts HD logo in place of the Sky logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. It was seen at the end of all Sky original programming from 2010 when Living TV Group became a subsidiary of Sky and was used up until 2015 in favour with the next logo below. Despite the logo was no longer use since 2015, it made surprise appearances on international prints of Jamestown and Stan Lee's Lucky Man.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (September 14, 2012-2016)

Logo: On a white background, we see the current "sky" logo appearing in CGI and mulitcoloured by a shine of light and the logo placing on the middle. Then the logo flashes and transitions into the text reading "A SKY ORIGINAL PROGRAMME" and in multicoloured just like the sky logo and appears in a zooming in effect.

Variant: Starting in 2015, the text is bigger and the animation of this logo is shortened as a closing variant. It also strangely seen at the start of How to Change the World as a opening variant.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: An 18-note fanfare with a violin sound throughout.

Music/Sounds Variants:

A shorter version of the fanfare was used at the end of Sky shows until 2016.
A PAL version of the fanfare was heard on Penny Dreadful which they co-produced it with Showtime.
On How to Change the World, the sounds of people talking are used.

Availability: Uncommon.

Seen on all sky original programming until 2016 such as The Five, Moone Boy, Trying Again and Moonfleet, among others.
This logo appears on then-new seasons of current and former shows such as Trollied, A League of Their Own, The Moaning of Life, and Mount Pleasant, among others until 2016.
It also appears on then-new sky original programmes and documentaries until 2016 such as Yonderland, Duck Quacks Don't Echo and The Force, among others.
The closing variant appears at the end of sky original programming until 2016.

7th Logo (October 21-November 18, 2016)

Logo: On a black background, we see the multicoloured thunderbolt on the top right side, then it expanded and turns to flashes of dots which they exploded and the camera turns back as it turns into the sky logo which the flashes of colour appears inside the logo. Then it turns full colour and the logo appears into a gradient white background with "Original Production" appearing underneath.

FX/SFX: CGI animation with the lights flashing.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare.

Availability: Very rare. This only appeared on British airings of The Young Pope.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (2016- )

Logo: On a white background, we see a semicircle coming from the left to reveal the text "a sky original" and the background changes into gradient white as the semicircle fills the background.

Variants:

A widescreen version of this logo exists.
A short version version of this logo exists on season 1 and season 3 of Breeders.
There is a version that was used until 2018, here we see the Sky logo, then the same animation plays, but it reveals the text underneath and stacked reading "ORIGINAL PRODUCTION".
From 2018 until 2019, the animation remains the same but the semicircle reveals the text "a Sky original production".
On Chernobyl, the logo is on a black background and appears still.
- On Das Boot, the text appears in German reading "eine Sky original production". On one print of said show, the logo is normal and it is shortened on a black background and the text read as "sky original" instead.
A widescreen version of this logo exists.
There is a version where it has the Sky Cinema sparkly background with the same animation, except it reveals "a sky cinema original".
Starting in 2021, the animation was enhanced with the colours are 2D.
Another version where its used for the Sky Studios logo, here we see the same animation from before but on a black background and there is a flash on the semicircle and reveals the Sky Studios logo with "sky" on the left and "studios" appears inside on the rectangle box (which is used on its channels, services and its assets) and on the right.
- A still version of the Sky Studios logo exists.
- A widescreen version of the Sky Studios logo exists.
- A print version of the Sky Studios logo appears on the TV movie Elizabeth is Missing.
- Sometimes, the Sky Studios logo shares the screen with other logos.
For children's shows, we see the Sky logo in pink with the four letters forming the word "KIDS" in its own colours, then the word Sky slides down on the left as the paint splats the word "KIDS" with the dot changing in a splat turning it white and forms the rectangular box.
- A still version of the Sky Kids logo exists either in a black background or in-credit with the word Sky appering in either pink or white.
On Frayed, and at the end of both films Last Train to Christmas and A Christmas Number One, the logo is still and in-credit without "a" and "original".

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A synth noise with sparkling sounds, a choir sound and a two note synth sound.

Music/Sounds Variants:

A PAL toned version of the sound exists on Extinct.
For the Sky Studios logo, a four note fanfare with a soft violin sound and a slashing sound.
For the still version of the Sky Studios logo, is either none or the ending theme of the show.
On Starz prints of White Birds, the Sky Studios logo music is in low tone.
On Devils, it uses the Sky Originals music on the Sky Studios logo.
On British prints of Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, the opening theme of the movie was used instead.

Availability: Current and common.

Seen at the start and end of all current and new Sky original programming, documentaries and movies from 2016 onwards such as Four Kids and It, Bloods, A League of Their Own, and British prints of Extinct, Riverdance: The Animated Adventure and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, among others.
This logo also appears on new prints of former and current Sky original programming, documentaries and movies such as Road Wars and UK Border Force, among others.
It also appeared on Sun Sea and A&E and Brit Cops surprisingly after the Virgin Media Television logo.
This logo replaces the Sky Cinema Original Films logo on current prints of Monster Family.
The Sky Cinema variant was seen on original prints of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile but current prints replace it with the normal Sky Originals logo.
The Sky Studios logo is seen on all shows, documentaries and movies produced by this company such as The Fear Index, Landscapers and Intergalactic, among others.
- The print version of the Sky Studios logo appears at the end of the TV movie Elizabeth is Missing.
- This logo also appears at the beginning of Devils.
Oddly enough, this plays twice at the start and the end of Sky Kids 2021 Christmas specials Christmas Crackers and Christmas Favourites.
The Sky Kids variant can be seen on said Christmas specials. The still version can be also seen on its children's shows such as Take Note and The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, among others.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (as Sky Cinema Original Films) (March 2, 2018)

TBA. Only seen on British prints of Monster Family.